According to the latest forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States will add 62.8 GW of new utility-scale power generation capacity in 2024. This new capacity represents an increase of 55% compared to 40.4 GW in 2023. Among them, solar energy will account for the largest share of new installed capacity, reaching 58%, followed by battery energy storage, accounting for 23%.
In the solar sector, U.S. utility-scale solar in 2024 will set a new record if the planned 36.4 gigawatts come online, nearly double the 18.4 gigawatts in 2023. Texas, California and Florida are the three largest contributors, accounting for 35%, 10% and 6% respectively. In addition, Nevada's "Twin Solar Facility" is scheduled to begin operations in 2024 and is expected to become the largest solar photovoltaic project in the United States.
In terms of battery energy storage, U.S. battery storage capacity will double from the existing 15.5 GW to 30.8 GW in 2024. Texas and California are expected to add 6.4 GW and 5.2 GW of new battery storage capacity respectively, and together they account for 82% of new U.S. battery storage capacity. Growth in U.S. solar and wind power generation is driving demand for battery storage. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) further boosted energy storage technology by introducing an investment tax credit (ITC) for standalone energy storage.
In the wind energy sector, 8.2 GW of new wind power capacity is planned to be added in 2024. Compared with record wind power capacity growth of more than 14.0 GW in 2020 and 2021, the growth rate in the past two years has slowed down. Two large offshore wind farms scheduled to come online this year are the 800-MW Vineyard Wind1 off the coast of Massachusetts and the 130-MW South Fork Wind off the coast of New York.
In terms of natural gas, 2.5 GW of natural gas power generation capacity is planned to be added in 2024, which is the least new natural gas production capacity in the United States in 25 years. Notably, 79% of new natural gas capacity will come from simple cycle gas turbine (SCGT) plants. This year will be the first time since 2001 that combined cycle power generation capacity will not be dominated by natural gas technology.
Finally, in the nuclear energy sector, the start-up of the fourth unit (1.1 GW) of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia, originally scheduled for 2023, has been pushed to March 2024. Vogtle's third unit began commercial operation at the end of July last year.